The Florida Panthers are back in the Stanley Cup Playoffs.

Thanks to losses by the New York Rangers and Columbus Blue Jackets on Saturday, Florida’s magic number shrunk to zero.

This marks the sixth straight year Florida has qualified for the postseason, a franchise record that just keeps growing.

The playoffs are set to begin in two weeks, but we’re still far from finding out what the matchups are going to be.

As it stands, Florida is in third place in the Atlantic Division.

If the playoffs started tomorrow, the Panthers would face their cross-state rivals, the Tampa Bay Lightning, for the fourth time in five postseasons.

There are still paths to Florida going up against Toronto, Ottawa or Montreal in the first round, so we’ll see how things shake out over the next six games.

Florida also has several players who are currently out of the lineup, but expected back either before or during the playoffs.

Forward Matthew Tkachuk has been out since the 4 Nations Face-Off in February but he’s been seen on the ice recently and barring any setbacks, the team is hopeful his recovery will land him back in the lineup during the first round.

Sasha Barkov, Dmitry Kulikov and Nico Sturm are all currently injured but both should be back before the postseason arrives, and suspended defenseman Aaron Ekbald will be eligible to return for Game 3 of the opening round.

There is still much to learn over the next couple weeks, but take a breath, Panthers fans.

The days of sitting at home and watching other teams fight for the Stanley Cup are long gone.

See you in the playoffs.

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Los Angeles, CA — The Los Angeles Kings (44-23-9) defeat the Edmonton Oilers (44-27-5) in a clean 3-0 fashion at Crypto.com Arena on Saturday, March 5.

With this victory, as the Stanley Cup playoffs draw nearer, this victory keeps the Kings in their second place standing in the Western Conference of the NHL. That being said, this win also serves as the last litmus test against some of the top teams in the NHL, with Los Angeles notably being beaten by the Colorado Avalanche in a 4-0 loss on the road, and losing 3-1 at home against the Toronto Maple Leafs. 

One of the star players in this match against Edmonton was Kings goaltender Darcy Kuemper who reliably kept the box score clean for Los Angeles, saving eleven Oiler shots from entering the net during the match. 

Just Darcy being Darcy 🧱 pic.twitter.com/1GzhvAq0de

— LA Kings (@LAKings) April 6, 2025

That being said, the first period saw both the Oilers and the Kings battle for the hockey puck, with LA center Anze Kopitar winning the faceoff to start for his team. Indeed, despite one penalty by the Oilers — tripping committed against Kings right wing Adrian Kempe — both teams were mostly going back and forth between their respective hockey goal nets throughout, playing cut and dry ice hockey with missed opportunities left on the rink. 

As the second period got rolling, though, the momentum began to shift. Despite a slashing penalty committed by Kings center Quinton Byfield, Los Angeles began their aggression onto the Edmonton net. LA King right wing Kevin Fiala swooped by the Oiler net, and with an assisted shot from Kopitar completed the offense drive and hit a backhand shot for his 30th shot of the season to give the Kings the lead, 1-0. 

30 FOR KEV! pic.twitter.com/XzYsM8WmLS

— LA Kings (@LAKings) April 5, 2025

Los Angeles newcomer and left wing Andrei Kuzmenko added to the offensive pile on, when Kings defenseman Drew Doughty drew the assist shooting the puck to the left side of Edmonton’s net, when Kuzmenko saw his opportunity and landed an impressive snap shot into the hockey net, adding another tally to the box score, 2-0. 

KUZ IS INEVITABLE pic.twitter.com/SiMI3tzWps

— LA Kings (@LAKings) April 5, 2025

Afterward, while the Oilers drew another penalty — slashing against Byfield — enabling the Kings with a power play, that window for more goals slowly shut as the second period drew to a close. 

The third period came around, and at this point the Oilers needed to get numbers onto the box score, so they made the decision to add another player to the offensive push against the Kings net. At the same time, since they had to leave their hockey net empty in order to compromise and make more room on the other side, this left a window open for Kings center Trevor Lewis to score an empty net goal, extending the Kings lead to 3-0. 

The Kings only gave up one penalty in the game, and ultimately went on to beat the Oilers 3-0 in this match. The Oilers had no offensive rebuttal during the match. 

The Los Angeles Kings have six remaining games in the 2024-2025 season, with their next game hosting the Seattle Kraken (32-38-6). These last games in the season are perhaps the calm before the storm that is the Stanley Cup playoffs.

Los Angeles, CA — The Los Angeles Kings (44-23-9) defeat the Edmonton Oilers (44-27-5) in a clean 3-0 fashion at Crypto.com Arena on Saturday, March 5.

With this victory, as the Stanley Cup playoffs draw nearer, this victory keeps the Kings in their second place standing in the Western Conference of the NHL. That being said, this win also serves as the last litmus test against some of the top teams in the NHL, with Los Angeles notably being beaten by the Colorado Avalanche in a 4-0 loss on the road, and losing 3-1 at home against the Toronto Maple Leafs. 

One of the star players in this match against Edmonton was Kings goaltender Darcy Kuemper who reliably kept the box score clean for Los Angeles, saving eleven Oiler shots from entering the net during the match. 

Just Darcy being Darcy 🧱 pic.twitter.com/1GzhvAq0de

— LA Kings (@LAKings) April 6, 2025

That being said, the first period saw both the Oilers and the Kings battle for the hockey puck, with LA center Anze Kopitar winning the faceoff to start for his team. Indeed, despite one penalty by the Oilers — tripping committed against Kings right wing Adrian Kempe — both teams were mostly going back and forth between their respective hockey goal nets throughout, playing cut and dry ice hockey with missed opportunities left on the rink. 

As the second period got rolling, though, the momentum began to shift. Despite a slashing penalty committed by Kings center Quinton Byfield, Los Angeles began their aggression onto the Edmonton net. LA King right wing Kevin Fiala swooped by the Oiler net, and with an assisted shot from Kopitar completed the offense drive and hit a backhand shot for his 30th shot of the season to give the Kings the lead, 1-0. 

30 FOR KEV! pic.twitter.com/XzYsM8WmLS

— LA Kings (@LAKings) April 5, 2025

Los Angeles newcomer and left wing Andrei Kuzmenko added to the offensive pile on, when Kings defenseman Drew Doughty drew the assist shooting the puck to the left side of Edmonton’s net, when Kuzmenko saw his opportunity and landed an impressive snap shot into the hockey net, adding another tally to the box score, 2-0. 

KUZ IS INEVITABLE pic.twitter.com/SiMI3tzWps

— LA Kings (@LAKings) April 5, 2025

Afterward, while the Oilers drew another penalty — slashing against Byfield — enabling the Kings with a power play, that window for more goals slowly shut as the second period drew to a close. 

The third period came around, and at this point the Oilers needed to get numbers onto the box score, so they made the decision to add another player to the offensive push against the Kings net. At the same time, since they had to leave their hockey net empty in order to compromise and make more room on the other side, this left a window open for Kings center Trevor Lewis to score an empty net goal, extending the Kings lead to 3-0. 

The Kings only gave up one penalty in the game, and ultimately went on to beat the Oilers 3-0 in this match. The Oilers had no offensive rebuttal during the match. 

The Los Angeles Kings have six remaining games in the 2024-2025 season, with their next game hosting the Seattle Kraken (32-38-6). These last games in the season are perhaps the calm before the storm that is the Stanley Cup playoffs.

Michkov has point streak snapped as Flyers lose to Hutson, Canadiens originally appeared on NBC Sports Philadelphia

Interim head coach Brad Shaw was hoping the Flyers would play the role of spoiler Saturday night at a lively Bell Centre.

For two periods, it looked like they might. But the Flyers were unable to build on a 1-0 lead and fell to the Canadiens, 3-2.

Ryan Poehling scored his career-high 12th goal and eighth in the last 11 games with a first-period marker.

Montreal finally responded 1:24 minutes into the third period and then took the lead just 1:16 minutes later. It added a shorthanded goal a little over midway through the frame to pretty much put the Flyers away.

Tyson Foerster scored with 40 seconds left to make it interesting. The goal came with the Flyers’ net emptied for the two-man advantage on a power play.

The Flyers (31-37-9) saw a three-game winning streak come to an end, dropping to 3-1-0 under Shaw. They haven’t won more than three straight since Feb. 6-12 of last season, when they won four in a row.

Saturday night’s loss officially eliminated the Flyers from postseason contention. They’ve gone five straight seasons without a playoff berth, matching the franchise’s longest drought.

The Flyers went 1-2-0 against the Canadiens (37-30-9). The win came nine days ago, a 6-4 decision at the Wells Fargo Center after John Tortorella was fired in the morning.

Montreal holds the Eastern Conference’s second wild-card spot by four points.

“If we can go in and spoil somebody’s party, there are a few things in hockey that feel really good, that’s one of them,” Shaw said Friday after practice. “It’s fun to go in and be the spoiler. It’s fun to go in and take the life out of a building. That’s a hard thing to do this time of year.”

• In a showdown of Calder Trophy candidates, Lane Hutson scored the Canadiens’ go-ahead 2-1 goal with a ridiculous shot and Matvei Michkov had a six-game point streak halted. He put up four goals and seven assists over that run.

On Saturday night, Michkov had three shots and a minus-2 mark in 23:04 minutes.

Hutson, a 21-year-old defenseman, is the likely front-runner for the Calder Trophy. He leads all rookies with 63 points (six goals, 57 assists) and is playing big minutes for a team that could be headed to the postseason.

The 20-year-old Michkov leads all NHL rookies with 24 goals to go along with 58 points.

• Samuel Ersson was very good over the first two periods before allowing three goals in the final stanza.

The 25-year-old didn’t play the puck well on the sequence that led to Nick Suzuki’s shorthanded marker.

Ersson made 23 saves on 26 shots. In his last 12 appearances, Ersson has gone 3-6-2 and allowed 46 goals.

Montreal netminder Sam Montembeault stopped 21 of the Flyers’ 23 shots.

• The Flyers have five games left and could finish fourth to last in the NHL standings. But they’re also just three points back of the Ducks and Penguins, who are tied for the league’s eighth-fewest points.

So there’s still potential for a lot of movement when it comes to the 2025 NHL draft lottery odds.

• Karsen Dorwart, who the Flyers signed a week ago, made his NHL debut. The 22-year-old center played on the Flyers’ fourth line with Nicolas Deslauriers and Garnet Hathaway.

The Michigan State product had two shots and two hits in 10:32 minutes.

Dorwart’s parents Gregg and Janelle and sister Kalli were in attendance to see his debut. He became the ninth player from Oregon to ever make the NHL.

“I was blessed to have so many influential people that helped me during my time there and just growing up,” the Sherwood native said Wednesday. “They deserve all the credit in the world to help me get to the next point.”

• The Flyers are back in action Wednesday when they visit the Rangers at Madison Square Garden (7:30 p.m. ET/TNT).

St. Louis Blues top prospect Jimmy Snuggerud had a big moment in the club's April 3 contest against the Pittsburgh Penguins. The 6-foot-1 forward recorded his first NHL point by picking up the primary assist on Jake Neighbours' goal. 

Blues' Jimmy Snuggerud Is Already Impressing Big TimeOn March 28, the St. Louis Blues signed top prospect Jimmy Snuggerud to a three-year entry-level contract. This was after the 20-year-old forward posted 24 goals, 27 assists, and 51 points in 40 games this season with the University of Minnesota. 

Now, after his strong night against the Penguins, Snuggerud is being rewarded. At the club's morning skate, Snuggerud was moved up to the Blues' top line with Robert Thomas and Pavel Buchnevich, with Dylan Holloway out due to injury. 

Assuming they stick to their morning skate lines for their April 5 contest against the Colorado Avalanche, Snuggerud will have a golden opportunity to show the Blues what he can do playing in a more prominent role. In addition, he now has the chance to play on a line with two of the Blues' top forwards.

Snuggerud showed at the collegiate level with the University of Minnesota that he is a highly skilled offensive player. In 40 games this season with the school, he dominated, posting 24 goals and 51 points. Over his entire three-year stint with the school, he had 66 goals, 69 assists, and 135 points in 119 contests. 

It will now be fascinating to see what Snuggerud can do playing on a line with two stars like Thomas and Buchnevich from here. 

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A troublesome week continued for the Florida Panthers on Saturday in the Canadian capital city.

Florida lost for the fourth time this week, dropping a 3-0 affair to the playoff-hopeful Ottawa Senators at Canadian Tire Centre.

The Panthers got off to a strong start, doubling up Ottawa on shots during the opening period, but that didn’t keep the Cats from falling behind yet again.

Two goals by the Sens on their first five shots – one by Jake Sanderson and another by Drake Batherson on the power play – sent the home team into the intermission with a commanding 2-0 lead.

Florida kept the pressure on Ottawa goaltender Anton Forsberg throughout the middle period, outshooting the Senators 12-5, but the score remained the same heading into the final 20 minutes.

Forsberg turned aside another 15 shots during the third period, earning his first shutout since all the way back on November 2 against Seattle.

This time, he stopped a season-high 40 shots on goal en route to his third shutout of the season and sending Florida to their fourth straight defeat.

On to Detroit.

QUICK THOUGHTS

Florida killed off four of Ottawa’s five power plays in the loss.

The Cats’ power play went 0-for-3.

Ottawa is now just four points behind the Panthers for third place in the Atlantic Division. Each team has six games remaining on their schedule.

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On Apr. 3, Pittsburgh Penguins rookie Rutger McGroarty scored his first NHL goal in a 5-4 overtime loss to the St. Louis Blues. Historically, McGroarty became the 214th player to score their first goal in a Penguins sweater. 

Meanwhile, the 21-year-old becomes the 68th player to achieve the feat in the salary cap era, which began with Sidney Crosby's first goal on Oct. 8, 2005. 

McGroarty is on a list with three Hall of Famers: Colin Campbell (1975), Mario Lemieux (1984), and Mark Reechi (1989).

Other iconic names in franchise history are also on the list, such as Jaromir Jagr, Jean Pronovost, Bob Errey, Phil Bourque, Kevin Stevens, Evgeni Malkin, Kris Letang, Jordan Staal, Jake Guentzel, and Bryan Rust.

McGroarty is the fourth player to record their first goal this season, following Owen Pickering (Dec. 3), Joona Koppanen (Mar. 18), and netminder Alex Nedeljkovic (Jan. 17).

Interestingly, Greg Malone scored his first NHL goal with the Penguins on Nov. 5, 1976, and 27 years later, his son Ryan would tally his first goal with Pittsburgh on Oct. 29, 2003.

According to StatHead, Staal is the youngest player in franchise history to score their first NHL goal, achieving the feat at 18-032, just 30 days younger than Crosby was when he scored at 18-062. 

Pittsburgh Penguins Schedule: Remaining Games & Statistical NotesThe Pittsburgh Penguins are winding down their 2024-25 season and on pace to miss the Stanley Cup playoffs for the third consecutive season, a first in Sidney Crosby's 20-year career. However, there is plenty to play for in the final weeks of the regular season. 

On the other hand, the oldest Penguins player to score their first NHL goal was Noel Price, who was 31-348 when he scored on Nov. 22, 1967. Price was one of six players to score their first goal in the inaugural season, starting with Gene Ubriaco's first goal on October 21, 1967.

Moreover, McGroarty is now the 39th active player to register their first NHL goal with the Penguins, including Tristan Jarry, who had the team's first-ever goalie goal on November 30, 2023. 

Considering the elite talent in the pipeline in Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, this exclusive list of 214 players will surely expand before the end of the decade. 

Defenseman Elias Pettersson finally has his first NHL goal. The Vancouver Canucks defender beat Lukáš Dostál 9:40 into Saturday's matinee against the Anaheim Ducks. On the play, Linus Karlsson recorded his first career NHL assist while Derek Forbort was credited with the secondary assist. 

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This season has featured many first goals by Canucks players. Pettersson joins Karlsson, Max Sasson, Jonathan Lekkerimaki and Arshdeep Bains, who have all potted their first in the NHL. Pettersson is also the second Elias Pettersson to score for Vancouver, joining center Elias Pettersson, who scored his first goal on October 3, 2018, versus the Calgary Flames. 

FIRST OF MANY FOR JUNIOR! 👏 pic.twitter.com/NsHQWjQxKC

— Vancouver Canucks (@Canucks) April 5, 2025

Initially drafted 80th overall in 2022, Pettersson is the 31st player from his draft to score a goal. He is one of 11 players to record a goal that was drafted outside the first round, which also includes teammate Victor Mancini. Pettersson is also the 120th player in franchise history to score against the Ducks while also being the 27th defender to pick up a goal against the Canucks division rival.

Make sure you bookmark THN's Vancouver Canucks site and add us to your favourites on Google News for the latest news, exclusive interviews, breakdowns, and so much more. Also, be sure to leave a comment at the bottom of the page and engage with other passionate fans through our forum.